Overhead railway.



F. s. PARKER. OVERHEAD RAILWAY. QPPLICATION FILED NOV- 8. I915- Patented Aug. 29,1916! 2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

'F. s. PARKER. OVERHEAD RAILWAY. APPLICATION FILED NOV- 8. 1915. I I I? fi II "it, Patented Aug 2%? lIIIiIi.

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FRANK S. PARKER, 035 EDE'JIROIT, MICHIGAN.

mumammmm b all whom it may concern Be it known that I, FRANK S. PARKER, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Detroit, in the county of Wayne and State of Michigan, have invented cer tain new and useful Improvements in Overhead Railways, of which the following is a specification reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates .toan overhead railway, and the primary. object of my invention is to provide a novel motor or running gear from which a car or carriercan be safely suspended, the motor or running gear including a truck'which cannot become accidentally displaced at crossings or intersections of tracks, thus reducing accidents and delays, caused by derailment of trucks, to a minimum. i i

A further object of my invention is to provide a durable street equipment for overhead tracks, of a suspension railway system, and it is in this connection that the suspension railway system may be constructed over waterways, as canals, to avoid the use of valuable lands for traffic purposes and to avoid street traffic congestion when the railway system is placed at a sufiicient height for such purpose. I

Theabove ar a few of the objects which may be attained by the overhead railway to be hereinafter specifically described and then claimed, and reference will. now be had to the drawings Wherein-- Figure l is a side elevation of a portion of an overhead railway in accordance with my invention Fig. 2 is an end View of thiz street equipment, partly in section, showing an end view of a motor and its car; Fig. 3 is a plan of a track intersection and Fig. 4 is a cross sectional view taken on the line IV-IV of Fig. 1.

The street equipment comprises uprights 1 in opposed relation with the upper ends thereof connected by transverse trussed frames 2. The uprights 1 are provided with inwardly projecting brackets 3 and 4, held.

relative to the trussed frames 2 by suspension or tie rods The inner or confrontng ends of the brackets 3 and 4 support track girders or runners 6 for the rails 7 of a track, said track girders connecting the sets of uprights, as best shown in Fig. 1. The sets of uprights are suitably spaced apart and intermediate portions of the track girders 6 are connected to the sets of up- Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 29, rare.

Application filedNovember 3, 1915. Serial No. 60,202.

rights by angular-1y disposed tie rods 8 which prevent the track girders 6 fromisagging intermediate the sets of uprights. The

7 provide a track for a motor comprising a rectangular frame 9 having a longitudinal central trussed member 10. Contiguous to the ends of the frame 9 are bearing plates 11..for the bearings 12 of truck bodies 13. bodies 13 are connected to the bearing plates 11 by king bolts 14, constituting pivotal means for positively retaining the bearings against the plates 11, whereby each truclc body will be positively held in operative relation to the frame 9. Each truck body 13 has journal boxes 15 for the axles 16 of. wheels 17 on the rails 7, 'tl' us providing what is ordinarily known as a doubie truck at each end of the frame 9. The double trucks are provided with motors 18 adapted to impart movement to an axle 16 of each truck through the medium of a train of gears 19 or other power transmission device, said motors receiving electrical energy through a shoe 20 adapted to contact with a third rail 21 supported by a girder 22 on the inwardly projecting bracket 3.

Suspended from the frame 9 is a car body or barrier 23.which is held by sets of sus pension rods 24' passing through the car body and having the lower ends thereof connected to beams 25 on. the bottom of the car body. The upper ends of the suspension rod 23 are provided with. cross heads 2.6 having trunnions 27 in bearings 28, carried by the frame 9. it is preferable to provide suspension rods at the ends of the frame 9 and intermediatethe double trucks, and the cross headsftti of the intcrn'icdiatc sets of suspension rods 24 are connected by diagonally disposed. rods or braces 29 to the top of the car body 23. It is through the medium of the sets of suspension rodsz l and the rods 2.) that the car bcidy 23 is maintained in longitudinal alinement with the frame 9 of the motor, but allowed to swing from sideto side as is essential when the motor passes I over a curved section of track.

The bearings 12 of the truck Eli when passing over an intersection.

It is therefore essential that the bearing plates and bearings be of considerable area, to prevent thetrucks from tilting when passing over the gap between the confronting ends of the rails of the track. It is there-- fore perfectly safe for a double truck to travel overthe gap at the intersection of the tracks.

Whenthe cars are suspended some dis tance above'a street, suitable provision, as platforms, may be made whereby passengers may enter and leave the car.

From.the foregoing it will be observed that "the suspension of a car from between therails of a track prevents the use of cross over rails at the intersection of tracks, and sucli elimination necessitates the Wheel base of a truck being greater than the gage of a track wherebya truck may span the gap between the confronting rails of the track.

What I claim is z' an overhead railway system, intersecting tracks devoid of cross over rails, and a motor adapted to travel upon said tracks, said mot-or comprising a trussed frame, bearing plates at the ends thereof, double trucks at each, end of said frame and having a greater wheel base than the gage of said track, a bearing plate on each truck pivotally connected to the bearing plate of said frame and engaging the frame bearing plates to prevent the tilting of said trucks, and a car suspended from said motor frame.

2. In anfelectric overhead railway systenn; lnters'ecting tracks devoid of cross over ra1l and a motor adapted totravel upon'said tracks, said motor comprising a frame, bear-c rods to said motor frame, a car body below said track held by the lower ends of said rods passing through said car body, and diagonally disposed rods connecting .the roof of said car body to trunnions oftsaid suspension rods.

4. In an overhead railway system, intersecting tracks devoid of cross ovenirails, and a motor adapted to travel upon said tracks, said motor comprising a trussed frame, bear-- ing plates at the ends thereof, double trucks at the ends of said frame on a track and having bearings non-tiltably pivotally connected to the bearing plates of said frame, said double trucks having a wheel base greater than the gage of said track, and a car suspended below said trucks.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

FRANKS. PARKER.

Witnesses:

ANNA M. Donn, LEWIS E. FLANDERS. s 

